


spoilsport

by unoriginal_liz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-19
Updated: 2004-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 07:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3969931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unoriginal_liz/pseuds/unoriginal_liz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's final year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	spoilsport

**Author's Note:**

> A thing I wrote to try a thing? I think I read a story in a magazine and I was really taken with the style of it. I feel like the end is a bit abrupt. 
> 
> Poor kids - they've got their whole lives ahead of them, except...they don't.

It’s final year and Lily and James have stopped dancing around the obvious and started going out.

”Time was getting on and we were getting a bit old for all that stuff,” James says, with a lofty grin and a big wave of his hand that is meant to describe the years of bickering and showing off and refusals – though the truth is they fight almost as much as before.

Time _is_ getting on, though. Sirius never would have believed it possible, but the teachers look even older, “You wouldn’t want to bump into that on a dark night,” he whispers, nodding at McGonagall.

Some of the students look a bit rough as well, worn and torn at the edges. Remus especially, but that’s probably on account of his being such a spoilsport. Stress like that must add years to you, Sirius thinks.

*****

Sometimes the group is down to three, and sometimes it swells to five when Lily comes along, which is all right by everyone, even if James spends most of the time in a daze. Maybe Peter isn’t _really_ all right about it, but he never has the guts to say anything.

It being final year and all, sometimes they talk about the future, which still seems a long way off. They all know what they’re going to do. Lily says she’s going to write one of those dodgy astrology books and make a fortune. “Muggles eat that sort of thing up,” she says, shrugging a shoulder.

James and Sirius both say Auror, which sounds dashing and dangerous, (like their many midnight kitchen raids) and Peter quickly adds his name to that list. Lily rolls her eyes and says, “Like you boys have got a chance.” So James changes his mind and says he’ll be perfectly happy to test drive new broom models for Sweeps Racing Broom Manufacturers. Lily is still not satisfied with this, but James says, “Danger is part of who I am,” in a really stupid voice, and runs his hands through his hair. Lily makes a face and Sirius asks Remus what he’s going to do.

Remus frowns, then says thoughtfully, “The Ministry has a lot of benefits. A good health plan and you can always take early retirement. I’m thinking about the Department of Cultural Preservation. Or maybe the Department for Magical Minorities Overseas. Be a good way to see some of the world.”

And like that, all the fun is gone, and no-one wants to talk about the future, on account of Remus being such a spoilsport.

*****

In ‘The Three Broomsticks’ they order their drinks and sit down. Lily and James put their heads close together and leave their drinks untouched. Peter takes out his letter and starts reading it again. He’s just dying to be asked, so Sirius ignores him.

There’s a crumpled newspaper left on the table, the wordsearch already filled in in glittery ink. Remus, of course, snatches it up and buries his face in it. Sirius could read the front page if he wanted to, but he gets as far as the headline, which screams ‘ _BETRAYAL: are They among us?_ ’ and he decides not to go any further.

Instead he reaches across the table and snags Lily’s drink. He scoops a piece of ice out and holds it in his palm, as if he’s considering what to do with it, although he already knows. There’s the rustle of pages turning, and Sirius grins and slips the ice down Remus’ neck. Watching Remus’ back stiffen in surprise is very rewarding. Remus doesn’t yell or throw a piece of ice at Sirius though. Instead, he squirms and pulls the back of his shirt out of his trousers and retrieves the piece of ice, which he slips back into Lily’s drink, not that she’ll drink it now.

He gives Sirius an annoyed look. There are black smudges on his fingers and across his forehead from the paper. Sirius shakes his head and murmurs “Spoilsport.”

*****

There’s this girl who likes Remus, Almira Hagley. She’s been after him since fourth year, definitely – the same amount of time Remus has spent pretending he hasn’t copped on to that fact. Now, whenever they go out, they see Almira, who looks slightly more anxious every time, like this might be her last chance.

This time, when Sirius sees her heading towards them, he doesn’t warn Remus. He thinks he’ll do old Mira a favour - that kind of patient devotion deserves some kind of reward. Anyway, Remus might like it, if he gave it a try.

Feeling very virtuous, he traps Remus’ hands behind his back, between his own, so he can’t slip away, which Remus is very good at. Remus doesn’t fight back, of course, because he never does, and he’s forced to stand there and make polite conversation with Mira, who’s practically panting into his face with pure nervous joy. When she stutters out that she’d like to dance, there’s only a second of hesitation before Remus asks her.

Lily thumps him as soon as Mira pulls Remus to the dancefloor. “That was bloody mean, Sirius Black,” she says.

“ _What_?” he says, rubbing his arm.

James sticks up for him and says, “Oh come on, Lily, it’s not going to kill him. It’s just a dance.”

“It’s bloody mean, that’s what it is,” Lily insists, “To _both_ of them.” She turns her back and James tries to calm her down. Sirius watches Remus and Mira and feels self-righteous. He doesn’t know what Lily means – Mira is obviously having the time of her life, and as for Remus…Mira’s a nice girl – a bit hefty, but all right, Sirius generously allows, and she’s dotty about Remus, which should be flattering if nothing else. Remus needs to loosen up, he decides. Try new things.

When the song is over, they come back. Mira is flushed and smiling, while Remus’ face is carefully blank. She stands much closer to Remus and keeps saying how much she likes dancing. Remus takes deep breaths and Sirius can see he’s steeling himself to ask her again, when, at a nudge from Lily, James steps in and asks her instead.

“Oh. All right,” she says, because she can’t say no without looking stupid. It’s funny, the insulted look on James’ face at her lukewarm acceptance, and they head back to the dancefloor. Lily asks Remus if he wants a drink, which is her way of siding with him, and Remus smiles at her and says he’d love one.

Remus talks to Lily and Peter for the rest of the night. When Mira and James come back, Lily stands beside Remus and keeps interrupting whenever Mira tries to talk to him. Nicely – but firmly.

“Nice one,” James mutters to Sirius, but there’s no real heat in it.

Finally Mira gives up, and goes back to her friends, still smiling hopefully at Remus. “You should come over and say hello,” she says.

“Thank you,” Remus says politely, but he won’t. As soon as she’s gone, they decide to leave. Remus says he’ll get the coats and Sirius offers to help. Lily’s look tells him she expects him to grovel.

Waiting in line for the coats, Remus is silent, arms folded.

“Oh come on, don’t be such a” - Sirius begins.

“Such a what?” Remus asks. He’s not shouting, but he’s definitely angry. “Don’t be such a _what_?”

Sirius reconsiders what he was about to say and changes tack. “Look, I’m sorry – I just thought you might enjoy it, if you gave her a chance. How are you ever going to know, if you don’t try” -

”Yeah, well, I _didn’t_ like it, which I knew anyway. I don’t enjoy it and I didn’t want to try. You never bloody listen.”

”Sorry,” Sirius mutters, which comes out in a pissed off tone, so it doesn’t count. Remus stares straight ahead, arms still folded.

*****

Of course, Peter drops an apple, which rolls down the stairs making more noise than one would expect an apple to make. There is a meow. “What would we want with an _apple_?” James asks later, but at that moment, the only concern is finding a dark corner to hide in, because the invisibility cloak isn’t really built for four, and James and Sirius find it hard to keep still and not fidget.

They shrink back behind a shadowed archway. Soon enough they hear boots on the stairs and Filch appears, holding a lantern in one hand and Mrs. Norris in the other. He squints in their direction and holds up the lantern to shine into all the dark corners, then, apparently satisfied, he turns his back and proceeds to investigate a small passage to the right.

Remus breathes out in relief and Sirius gives in to temptation and pokes him hard in the side. He flinches, and glares, annoyed, at Sirius, but he doesn’t yelp or poke back. Which is what Sirius should have expected really, given that Remus is such a drip and a spoilsport besides.

*****

On his birthday the best present Sirius gets is The Antidote’s new record. Of course, that’s James’ gift, and he must have really shelled out for it, because it comes complete with an interview spell, which allows you to ask the band five questions (barring ones about ex-girlfriends, pending trials and unusual nicknames in school).

Lily gives him a hand mirror that laughs at him and makes smart comments. Whenever Lily looks in it, it wolf whistles.

Peter gives him a big bag of sweets from Honeydukes. “I couldn’t think of anything else,” he says.

Remus gives Sirius an organiser. It looks exactly like a square grey alarm clock, and Sirius stares at it for a long time. “It’s useful,” Remus says defensively.

“I’m sure it is,” Sirius says. “That’s the problem.”

Still Sirius enjoys hearing it say, in a very proper voice, “Friday, get pissed. Saturday, tell Snivellus to fuck off. Perhaps incorporate charm involving shampoo.”

He gets more birthday kisses than strictly tally with his age, not that he’s complaining, and Melantha Emory gives him more than a birthday kiss, which is the reason he sneaks into the bedroom late that night.

The room is dark, except for a faint glow in Remus’ bed. Sirius grins. Reading by wandlight again. He slips over only to find Remus lying on his back, book covering his face. He pauses for a moment before sliding in beside him. He lies on his side and stares at Remus. He knows Remus has woken up by the changed rhythm of his breathing. You can just tell when someone’s pretending to be asleep, he thinks. Like Remus is now.

He reaches out and puts his hand on Remus’ belly. He can hear Remus swallow, and his stomach moves up and down, fast, but he doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t move Sirius’ hand. It's funny, but sometimes Remus stops being a spoilsport and acts like a tease instead, which always throws Sirius off balance, so he’s not quite sure how he wants Remus to be.

He lies in the dark, with his hand warming on Remus’ stomach, and he thinks about time getting on, and the future – a bit, because that’s what the dark and drink make you do. He and James will be all right, and Lily and Peter, of course, because one will be holding James’ hand and the other clinging to his coat-tails.

He imagines Remus being a spoilsport in a real job, abroad, with the Magical Minorities, and his hand presses down on Remus’ stomach.

“Thanks for the present,” he says. He waits for a few seconds, and just when he’s beginning to think Remus really is asleep, he hears –

“I was having a nice dream before you came along, so shut up, spoilsport,” which for a change, he does.


End file.
